BORO’S players must take the blame for being in a basement battle - and take responsibility for digging themselves out.

That’s the frank message from determined defender Matthew Bates who has vowed to help claw the club clear of drop zone danger.

“Of course we are in trouble,” he admitted. “It doesn’t take a genius to work it out.

“We’re third bottom. There’s no escaping that. And all the players are hurting over it.

“It is not nice to walk off the field to booing and then go home and put the television on and see the team in the relegation zone.

“We all feel we should be a lot higher in the table.

“When you are down there it is your own personal pride that is dented as well as the fans’.

“But we’ve only got ourselves to blame and it is down to ourselves to sort it out.”

Boro have been plunged back into the Championship hot spots after back-to-back defeats. They lost 1-0 at high-flying Swansea to a late deflection and by the same score at home to Millwall after being denied a late leveller when a David Wheater effort was scrambled off the line.

“But we can’t keep making excuses,” said the self-critical Stockton-born stopper.

“We can’t keep saying that we have only just lost out. We can’t keep saying we have been a bit unlucky. We can’t keep saying we need the bounce of the ball to go our way in the box.

“We have to look at ourselves and we have to improve.

“There should be enough in this squad to get out of this situation but that is what we keep saying and we seem to keep going over the same things every week.

“There’s maybe a lack of confidence. That comes with being third bottom and not winning games.

“Sometimes you need a spark. We thought we’d had that with those two wins over Palace and Scunthorpe but we have slipped back again.

“I don’t know why. That the $1m question. We have to work on it and have to come up with answers. And hopefully they will come soon.”

Part of the solution could come with a more enterprising, fast flowing passing approach to games ushered in by Tony Mowbray but which is taking time to bed in.

“I think everyone agrees it is the type of football people like to play, certainly the type I like to play,” said Bates, one of Boro’s better performers since slotting into his natural role in the centre of defence.

“And the gaffer has said, that is not going to happen overnight but that’s no excuse. Even with the way we are playing now we should be winning games and picking up points.”

That pressing need for points makes Saturday’s visit of Hull, just three places and four points above Boro, a vital fixture.

“It’s another ‘must win’ game,” admitted Bates. “But we have been saying that about games for a long time now and it is time to start delivering.

“It’s a big, big game that we really need to get the full three points from. We need to be at our best, work hard for the full 90 minutes and we need the supporters right behind us.”